Straus rejects bathroom bill

Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, rejected the idea of passing a bathroom bill being pushed by the governor and lieutenant governor. The bathroom bill targeting the transgender community is included in a list of items the governor wants considered in the 30-day special session he called that begins in mid-July.
“We are starting to send the wrong signal about who we are as a state,” Straus told school board members from across the state attending a conference in San Antonio.
Referring to the effect a similar law had on the North Carolina economy that has cost jobs in that state as well as lost North Carolina sports events and conventions, he said, “We seem determined to repeat the mistakes other states have made.”
Under House rules, the Speaker can’t prevent the bathroom bill from getting on the agenda, but he can maneuver debates, committee meetings and the order in which bill come to the floor to make sure it doesn’t come up for a vote before the session ends.